Daniel
by Irk Splee
Summary: Gordon, Waffle, and Mr. Blik find a photo album with pictures of a stranger named Daniel. But wait, wasn't their father's name Daniel? Could it possibly be him? What was his life like?


Irk is back once more. Remember back in From Kittens To Cats, when I said I was technically working on two and a half Catscratch stories? This is the half story... well, it WAS the half story, anyway. I thought it'd just be a short little thing, but I kept adding little details and events and now it's a monster. No longer a half story, this baby is a full fic! The beginning of this fic takes place directly after FKTC but still a while before Bringing Down The Mouse, the start of the series. The time does switch after a while, though. You'll know when that is. Originally part of this was going to be the first chapter of FKTC, but it ended up scrapped. I'm glad, too, because I added more, changed some things, and now it makes a perfect prologue for Strays and Pets. Catscratch is still owned by Doug Tennapel and Nickelodeon and not me, bla bla bla.

* * *

It was a day unlike any other. The Cramdilly cats had not seen their lives like this ever before. They thought it would never happen, hoped it would never happen, but luck was not on their side in this instance. No, life had taken a turn for the worse.

They were bored.

Things had a tendency to go wrong all the time in their lives, but at least they had something to do. Chasing bears from the nearby wood off of the front lawn, dealing with the Chumpy Chumps and their attempted, sometimes successful, torment, reclaiming escaped newts... it wasn't always fun, but it was life. Now that nothing was happening, it seemed like a completely different world. The three brothers were sitting in a circle in the living room, not saying a word. The TV was on in the background, but none of them paid it any attention. Their boredom was so deep that they likely wouldn't comprehend a thing on it, anyway. Waffle made a slight whining noise.

"Stop it, Waffle," Blik snapped.

"But I'm BORED," Waffle whined again, his tail wagging back and forth.

"So am I, but I don't want to be bored AND annoyed. Now HUSH," Blik commanded. Waffle obeyed, unwilling to cause a fuss. After a few minutes, silence became too tough for Waffle to do. He turned to Gordon. "How's Human Kimberly?" he asked. "Maybe we could go see what she's up to. That'd be fun, wouldn't it?"

"Vacation," Gordon responded. "She won't be home until tomorrow. If she was here I don't think I'd be in the house going crazy right now."

"Of COURSE she's not here when I'm actually desperate enough for entertainment to want to talk to that girl," Blik said bitterly. With a groan, he fell onto his back and stretched out. "I never thought I'd say this, but could something please go wrong? It'd be better than just sitting here." The three of them looked up when they heard the sound of footsteps. Hovis had walked in on the three. "Having fun?" he asked. He kept his usual composed expression, but Blik and Gordon, at least, knew that he intended to be sarcastic.

"Don't you have something to clean?" Blik grumbled.

"That's what led me down here. I was dusting in the library when I found this." Hovis pulled a book out from behind his back and dropped it in the middle of the circle the cats had formed. "I thought you may find it interesting."

Gordon reached over and lifted the book. It had a dark green cover and the words "Photo Album" in raised gold letters. Without even opening it, Gordon could see that the pages were frayed and yellowed. The book had obviously seen better days. He opened it to the first page and laid it in the in front of him so that Blik and Waffle could see. On the first page was a photograph of an old lady with her hair pulled back into a bun. She was sitting in a large lounge chair. In her lap was a young cat, no older than a few months, who was fast asleep. The cat's fur was brown, and she had darker brown rings on her tail. There was an orange patch of fur surrounding her right eye and spreading up to her right ear.

"Edna and Mom..." Waffle muttered, drooping a little. The cats sat in silence for a few moments, but Gordon quickly snapped out of it and continued flipping through the pages. Every single photograph involved Audrey in some way. She was alone in most of them, but some had her interacting with Edna or Hovis. All of the photos seemed to be arranged in chronological order. The experience of looking through them was not the tearjerker that the cats had expected when they saw the first picture. In fact, it was interesting to them to see pictures of their mother from when she was their age. One had her clutching a bottle of root beer, grinning; another showed her holding a mouse by the tail in her mouth, looking thoroughly pleased with herself; and yet another featured her merely preening for the camera. Almost all of them displayed Audrey doing something at least one of the brothers had done at some point in their lives.

"She wasn't all that different from us, was she?" Gordon commented, flipping the page. As they went further into the book, however, the similarities became less and less. Now most pictures were of a much older Audrey, looking more serious and mature. The cats were not too stunned; she could be very fun sometimes, true, but she simply wasn't a kitten anymore, or even a young adult cat.

"Who do you think that is?" Waffle asked, pointing at another photograph. Audrey was nowhere to be seen. Instead, there was a scrawny, white, quadruped cat covered in black splotches. He had a short, stubby tail, not unlike Gordon's, only the stranger's tail was missing quite a bit of fur. His ear was torn as if he had been attacked, and his white fur was slightly browned with filth and seemed terribly knotted. He was very obviously a street cat.

"Who knows," Blik said with a shrug. "Maybe he belonged to Edna before Mom came along."

"I doubt it, lad," Gordon said. "He looks more like an alley cat than a house cat. And why do you suppose he's standing on all fours? Mom rarely did that." He resumed flipping through the pages. The stranger was on every page now. A good portion of them had Audrey sitting next to him, a certain look in her eye. Waffle and Blik had seen that look before; it was the one when Gordon was with Human Kimberly and actually at ease...

The three of them gasped as one page came into view. At the top, someone had scrawled "New additions to the family!" in loopy, cursive handwriting. There was only one picture on the page. The white cat was in this one, and behind him stood Audrey, her arms wrapped around him. The two of them were smiling at each other, sharing the same admiring look Audrey had throughout this section. Her stomach was slightly swollen. Under this was written "Expectant parents- Audrey Cramdilly and Daniel Quid!"

"Daniel..." Blik read. "Now why does that sound familiar-"

"DAD!" Waffle interrupted. "Mom said our dad's name was Daniel, didn't she? It's Dad!" Waffle cried excitedly, jabbing a finger at the photograph.

"Meaning... our last name is Quid!" Gordon deduced. "Quite a respectable Scottish name, I've heard. My name is Gordon Quid!" he announced, both arms lifted in the air in a triumphant pose.

"That's nice," Blik commented, obviously disinterested. His brow furrowed in thought. "But wait... Mom said he died out in the cold, didn't she? But it seems like Edna knew who he was. You'd think she'd be quite willing to adopt him..."

"Aye, she would have been," Gordon agreed.

"So why didn't she?" Waffle asked. "She could have saved him... we could have met him! What do you think happened?"

"Perhaps he didn't want to live in a house," Gordon suggested.

"But living out in the cold? Why would he prefer that over living with the cat he loved?" Waffle asked. "And when she was about to have kittens, too..."

"We'll probably never know," Blik said. "It was years ago and whatever happened, it's over and there was likely a reason. We simply may never know..."

* * *

_Years earlier..._

Running. Her four paws hit the ground, one right after the other, at a rapid pace, her back claws clicking against the concrete. She had to keep going, had to get faster, had to keep speed. She was not used to running on all fours, but she no longer had the energy to keep on just her back paws. The brown cat wasn't sure where she was headed; not home... she couldn't lead them to her home... but where else was there to go?

She turned the corner and stopped for a second to catch her breath. The sounds of howling and barking drew closer. In terror, the cat shot off again, breathing heavily. She simply couldn't keep running anymore, but the knowledge that to stop might have meant death kept her going. Noticing an alleyway, she turned into it, hoping there would be a gate she could climb... then the dogs would no longer be able to follow...

...but all that was back there was a brick wall. Perhaps if there was a trash can, she could have used it to gain height and jump over it, but there was nothing to be used for that purpose. She attempted to jump the wall on her own, but it was useless. Turning around, she saw the three rottweilers headed towards her, snarling.

"Dead end, little kitty," one of them laughed. "Now it's time for us to have a little snack..."

The cat pressed herself against the wall, frozen in fear. _This is the end,_ she thought. _It's over... nowhere else to go... I'm done for... _She closed her eyes, gritted her teeth, and turned away, waiting for the dogs to take what they wanted. _Hopefully they'll make it relatively painless..._

"Fancy seeing you guys again."

The cat slowly opened her eyes at the sound of this new voice. It didn't sound like the dogs at all. This new speaker had a slight accent, but she couldn't place its origins; Scottish, perhaps? Cautiously turning her head back to the front, she saw that another cat, this one on all four paws, had jumped between her and her pursuers. Despite his unhealthily skinny body and dirt-stained fur, he had a certain sophisticated air about him. His ear was torn, possibly from an attack, and his black-spotted white fur seemed thinner in some places, particularly on his stumped tail, which was nearly bald.

"What did I tell you last time I saw you chasing a cat in hopes of getting food?" the newcomer asked with the tone of someone scolding a toddler.

"Oh, hush, Daniel," the same dog from before snapped. "Just get out of the way and I won't kill you both."

"Now, now, Leon. Remember last time," Daniel responded. He turned towards the female cat and smirked. "Let's just say there used to be four of them..."

"Just shut up and let us have some dinner!" Leon barked. "We didn't chase that thing for an hour just to let it get away!"

"Well, you should have expected me," Daniel replied, unsheathing his claws. "Now, are you going to leave or am I going to get physical with you three?"

Leon glanced back and forth from his prey to Daniel a few times, and after carefully weighing his options, turned to his comrades. "Let's go," he said with a growl. "She's a bit scrawny anyway... not much of a meal..." Leon walked off with a huff. The other two dogs stayed behind and eyed the female, but after glancing at Daniel again, decided that it wasn't worth it and also left. Satisfied that they weren't coming back, Daniel turned to the cat he had just rescued, who was still frozen in place. "And what's your name, little lady?" he purred.

"Au... Audrey... Audrey Cramdilly..." she stammered. "...and thank you," she continued after taking a few moments to pull herself together. "Where did you come from?"

"Up there." Daniel pointed at the brick wall. "It looks like someone took the box I use to get back over, though. Probably a stupid human."

"I happen to LIVE with humans, thank you very much," Audrey hissed, offended. "Are you one of those elitist strays I run into far too often?"

"Of course not," Daniel said, his voice still kind. "I don't mind humans or house cats at all. It's just that humans always inevitably take things that I put in places for a reason. You have to admit some of them are greedy. All species have some sort of loser, wouldn't you say?"

_"_I suppose so..." Audrey said slowly.

After a few moments of silence, Daniel spoke. "My name is Daniel, by the way, although you may have caught that from those monsters. Daniel Quid, to be more precise. Would you like me to escort you home, Audrey? It's late and there may be other unsavory characters out there... I'd hate to hear that you went off on your own and got hurt. It'd make me feel so guilty... the streets this late are no place for a house cat. No one, not even other cats, can be guaranteed trustworthy."

"So how do I know you're trustworthy?" Audrey asked, still wary.

Daniel laughed. "And you make a good point! You have a good head on your shoulders, Audrey. I like that, I really do. I suppose there's no way I can prove it. I mean, true, I did save your life, but who's to say that I didn't do it for my own evil purposes?" He said this in all honesty.

"I guess I'll come with you," Audrey told him. "You don't seem completely awful, and you're right, it would be a bad idea to go out there alone when it's so dark. Come on, I'll show you the way." Audrey rose to her hind legs, pushed past Daniel, and left the alleyway. Before exiting, she turned back. "But know one thing, Daniel. I may have a human, but she doesn't believe in declawing her cats. Get the picture?" Audrey unsheathed her claws to further make her point.

"Very well, then, Audrey. I give you permission to claw out my eyes if I try anything." With a slight bow on all four of his feet, he walked next to Audrey and let her lead him to wherever she had to go.

"So..." Audrey started in an attempt to make conversation. "You knew those dogs?"

Daniel nodded. "Leon and his cronies are always roaming around this late looking for cats. I've kind of taken it upon myself to be a bit of a defender to their victims, due to the fact that I've had experience fighting. What those dogs will do is disgusting, really... although... are you a mouser, Audrey?"

"I do chase mice sometimes. Why?" Audrey asked, wondering what this question had to do with anything.

"Would you agree that it's not much different? You know, chasing a creature more helpless than you and killing it when you know it doesn't stand a chance."

After taking a few moments to think about this and being unable to think of a proper rebuttal, Audrey turned her head away, slightly ashamed.

"Hey, Aud, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings or anything. It's OK. I'm sorry about that," Daniel said. "Just forget it."

Audrey agreed to change the conversation topic back to what it was. "You said there used to be four of those dogs... did you seriously kill one of them?"

"Kill?" Daniel asked, slightly perplexed. "What do you me- OH! That's not what I meant at all. I just roughed one of them up a little bit. Not much of an accomplishment, really, he was a shrimpy thing... but apparently the members of Leon's little pack who haven't run into me yet have been giving him hell for being beaten up by a cat and he won't hunt anymore. Score one for me," he said, smirking cockily during his last sentence. Audrey did not react; she was too busy focusing on the pavement in front of her. The Cramdilly mansion was slowly coming into view.

"Well, this is it," Audrey said. "My home. Thank you immensely for the escort."

Daniel did not speak. He was too busy staring at the mansion, mouth agape. "You... you live HERE? It's HUGE!" he sputtered.

"Yeah..." Audrey said, blushing slightly. "It's where I've lived most of my life. I'm used to it, really." She headed up the walkway.

"Audrey! Wait!" Daniel called.

"Hm?" she asked, turning back.

"I was just... wondering... do you think we'll see each other again? Would you want to?"

Audrey smiled. "I wouldn't mind meeting up with you again. We'll probably run into each other."

Daniel grinned back, hopefully. "Great... sounds great. Well, see you."

"See you." Audrey headed back up to the front door. Daniel didn't move. There was one other thing he wanted to say, but he wasn't sure if he should. He decided to go for it.

"Audrey? One more question..."

"What is it now?" Audrey asked.

Daniel sat for a few seconds before talking. "Do you have a mate?"

"No," Audrey said. An awkward pause between the two followed.

"Ah..." Daniel finally said. "I was just curious, is all. Well, good night." Without giving Audrey a chance to say anything else, he fled into the darkness.

* * *

A week had passed since Audrey and Daniel's meeting. Audrey had not seen Daniel since. Night had fallen, and Audrey was currently sitting on the windowsill, staring out into the darkness. She looked over at the chairs surrounding the fireplace. Edna's usual chair was empty as she had gone up to bed early, and Hovis was in his own seat reading the paper due to a lack of work to do. As silently as she could manage, Audrey jumped off the windowsill and headed for the door. She reached for the doorknob...

"And where do you think you are going?" Hovis had moved the paper over and was gazing at Audrey. She did not respond.

"You know Edna does not want you going out this late. Not after what happened last time," Hovis reminded Audrey.

"Come on, I'll be fine..." Audrey protested, not moving from her spot. "It was only one chase, and besides, I'm still alive, aren't I?"

"Edna's rule, Audrey. Not mine. If you want, discuss it with her tomorrow. But until then, I can not allow you to leave this house." With that, Hovis returned to his paper. Audrey sighed and leaped back onto the windowsill. She curled up and wrapped her tail around herself and continued watching the darkness in boredom...

Movement.

Audrey perked up. A quadruped cat was walking down the block in front of the house, but due to the darkness, she could not make out anything more than a shadow. However, she could tell that whoever it was had a thin frame and a short, almost non-existent tail. Her suspicions of the cat's identity were confirmed when he turned up the mansion's walkway and came close enough to be visible with the living room's light.

"Daniel!" Audrey mouthed, slightly waving her paw to get his attention, trying not to make her movements too big. She didn't want Hovis to notice. Daniel looked over, smiled, and continued heading towards the door. Audrey shook her head and mouthed "NO!" Daniel stared at her again, perplexed. She held up one finger, mouthed "wait a few seconds", and then jumped off of the windowsill once more, leaving behind the very confused Daniel. She only hoped that he caught her meaning, or would at least wait for her return. Audrey quietly sneaked past Hovis and went over to a table by the stairs. On this table sat a small houseplant. It was dying anyway, so she would hopefully not feel too much guilt for what she was about to do. "I'm sorry about this, Edna," Audrey mumbled under her breath, and then threw herself against the table. The plant fell off of it and landed on the floor with a loud crash.

"What in the world?" Audrey heard Hovis shout. She ducked under another table and waited. Hovis entered the room holding a broom and dustpan. "How did this fall...?" Hovis wondered to himself, sweeping up the remains of the plant. Audrey took advantage of his distraction and sprinted out into the living room. She quickly opened the door and stepped outside, not taking too much caution to stay silent. Audrey had a feeling that Hovis wasn't going to chase her.

"Hey, Daniel," Audrey greeted. Daniel still had a confused expression on his face.

"What took you so long?" he asked, already beginning to walk out of the front yard. Audrey took the hint and followed.

"I'm not supposed to be out here," she responded. "Not after that attack last time. I love my human Edna dearly, but she does worry a bit too much about me."

Daniel nodded to show that he understood. "So how'd you get out?"

"Edna's asleep, but the butler was playing guard dog... I just knocked over a plant, and when he went to clean up I ran out. I don't even think he noticed, and quite frankly, if he did I doubt he'd do anything about it. He's not exactly the type to go running down the streets after someone's pet, I don't think."

Daniel had obviously stopped paying attention after the word "butler". "You have a butler, too, Audrey? Wow, you must have the life in there..." Daniel turned around and stared at the house, which was so far away at that point it was almost out of sight.

Audrey blushed slightly. "It's no big deal, really... it's just what I grew up with. I don't brag about it or anything. Actually..." She began to squirm. "It's... kind of making me uncomfortable that you're making such a big deal over it all..."

"Then I'll stop and that's that," Daniel replied. "So, what should we talk about instead?"

"Well, first of all, where are we going?" Audrey asked. "Anywhere in particular?"

"I want you to meet someone," Daniel said.

Audrey suddenly realized that Daniel was taking her into the woods. The dark, secluded woods, where if anything happened to her, no one would ever know...

"Daniel?" Audrey asked, a bit panicked. "Why are we going in there? Who could possibly-"

"Get on all fours," Daniel commanded as if he did not hear Audrey's concerns.

Audrey didn't move. "Daniel... why...?"

"I can't explain now, just do it!" he snapped. Realizing how he was talking and that Audrey looked terrified, he calmed himself down. "I'm sorry, it's just... I'm kind of worried, all right? There's some rather unfriendly characters living in there... but if you act as a stray and stick close to me, no one should bother you. Come on." Daniel headed into the woods, but Audrey did not follow. Daniel looked back to see Audrey on all fours but not moving.

"Audrey...?"

"I'm just... I'm nervous," Audrey replied. "You said so yourself, no one can be guaranteed trustworthy... even you. I know we seem to be hitting it off rather well, but this is only the second time we've met."

Daniel turned around and went back to Audrey. "Audrey, I promise you. I will not harm you. In fact, if you stick with the stray act, there's some cats in there who would be rather displeased with me if I hurt you. I don't claim to be an amazing fighter... sure, I can defend myself and others, but there are other cats who could kill me if I gave them a reason. It'd be rather dangerous for me to try anything."

"Well... if you're sure..." Audrey took a few steps towards the woods. She smirked at Daniel. "You're a bit too convincing, you know that?"

Daniel grinned back. "Well, it seems to be working in my favor. Now come on. Remember, stay close."

* * *

Audrey followed Daniel's advice to the letter. Just as he had promised, no one approached the two of them, but Audrey wasn't quite sure if pretending not to be a house cat had anything to do with it. Although most of the cats in those woods either ran off or ignored Audrey and Daniel, Audrey could have sworn that she saw a pair of cat eyes glaring at them from the trees. Daniel had looked over in that direction and immediately sped up without a word. Audrey decided not to ask why he seemed scared; whoever it was, it was probably who Daniel meant when he said that not everyone in these woods was very friendly.

"And here we are," Daniel announced, pushing aside a branch in order to get by it. They had arrived at a large clearing. Someone had apparently decided it would be a good idea to remove all of the trees in the area and build a small cabin.

"Who in the world would bother building a house out here?" Audrey wondered.

"Two humans who like their quiet, apparently," Daniel responded. "But they aren't who we're here for. ERIKA!" he called. "Erika, are you outside? It's Daniel! I brought a friend!"

A small, fluffy cat poked her head out from behind the cabin, smiled at the sight of Daniel, and came running. She was obviously standing on her back paws while behind the cabin, but she dropped to her front paws before coming over. Her long fur was all one solid color; pure white. Her tail was rather short, but unlike Daniel's stump, it was long enough for her to be swishing it as she ran.

"Hey, sis," Daniel said when the cat stopped directly in front of him. "Audrey, this is my sister, Erika. Erika, this is Audrey Cramdilly, a friend of mine. I saved her from Leon's pack."

"Hello, Audrey," Erika said, smiling. Like her brother, she too had a Scottish accent, but hers was much heavier. Audrey could barely understand what she had said. Erika looked over at Daniel, slightly concerned. "Daniel? Is she from..." She trailed off, but Daniel obviously knew what she meant.

"No, Erika, don't worry. She isn't one of them. She's a house cat just like you."

"Ah." Relieved, Erika rose onto her hind paws. "I'm sorry for being suspicious, Audrey, it's just that..." Daniel looked over at Erika with an expression that meant she should fall silent. Erika complied.

"But what did you mean by-" Audrey asked Erika.

"Nothing. Not now. Later," Daniel answered. "I apologize for the secrecy, Audrey, but it's for our safety. I promise, as soon as I work out some things I'll explain it all, but for now... just trust me. I know I ask for a lot of trust from you when we haven't known each other long at all..."

"It's fine. It doesn't sound like it concerns me that much, honestly." Audrey turned to Erika. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Erika. Your brother is a very nice cat."

"You wouldn't be saying that if you grew up with him," Erika responded with a smirk. Daniel laughed at this comment.

"So... Daniel..." Erika continued. "Who is she, exactly? Your new mate?"

"Not yet," Daniel responded, looking over at Audrey.

Audrey gave him a slight, good-natured swat. "Don't assume, Danny boy."

"You don't seem TOO mad..." Daniel purred, giving Audrey a somewhat flirtatious look. Audrey blushed slightly, but quickly regained composure and prepared to make a witty retort. However, before she could say anything, a rustling noise came from the nearby trees. All three cats turned their heads towards the sound. Erika's ears went back and she bared her fangs in a snarl. Daniel mouthed something, a concerned expression on his face.

"We have to leave. Now!" Daniel commanded in a harsh whisper. "Audrey, Erika, stick with me. And don't run. Don't act is if you saw. Is that clear?"

Erika nodded in perfect understanding and then whispered to Audrey, "Come on, I'll explain on the way-"

"No you won't, Erika," Daniel cut her off, still keeping his voice low. "We're spending too much time standing around. We have to go!" His voice then rose and he spoke in a rather stilted manner. "Gee, I wonder what was in the trees... probably a squirrel or something." He then looked up at the sky. "It's getting dark, isn't it? I suppose we should be on our way. Come on, Audrey, let me take you back home..."

"Daniel, I swear, you are one of the worst actors on the planet... it was dark when you got here, for one thing..." Erika muttered under her breath, too low for him to hear. Inwardly rolling her eyes, she followed her brother and his friend out of the clearing and back into the woods. Whoever had been watching also retreated...

* * *

Not a word was said as the cats made their way back to civilization. Daniel continued heading straight, preferring to jump over logs and squeeze through bushes rather than detour around them. Erika led Audrey through the detours, figuring it would be faster than struggling over obstacles. She assumed that in his panic, Daniel had not stopped to consider this factor. Audrey did not ask questions; from what she could understand, whoever was in the trees was someone that it was a good idea to keep a distance from. As talking would have slowed them down, she decided that it could wait until Daniel or Erika said it was safe. After what felt like hours, the cats had finally made it outside of the Cramdilly house. Just as Daniel had, Erika gaped and stared at the house in shock.

"Oh my goodness..." Erika said. "She's-"

"Rich, yes, we've established that already," Audrey said, becoming mildly irritated that everyone was so amazed at the life she had known almost since birth.

"Sorry," Erika apologized. "It's just a bit of a surprise, that's all. You don't really act rich..."

"How does one act rich?" Audrey asked.

"Well... never mind. I just didn't expect this." She then turned back towards the woods. "I should get back before the humans begin to worry. But first... Daniel, we need to talk. Alone. Immediately."

Daniel nodded. "Just one moment. Audrey? I want to know something... how would you feel if I considered you my mate?"

Audrey smiled. "I think I'd like that very much." Daniel grinned back.

"How sweet," Erika said, "but can we hurry it up, please? Daniel, this is IMPORTANT!"

"All right, Erika, geez. You aren't in a very good mood, are you?" Daniel said, not even turning to face Erika. He leaned close to Audrey and gave her a quick lick. "I'll see you tomorrow, OK?"

"Sounds nice. Bye, Daniel!" Audrey replied. "Bye, Erika!" Erika did not respond. Audrey shrugged and quietly crept back into the house. Daniel finally looked at his sister. "Something's wrong, I can tell. Normally you'd be joking about my dating habits about now."

"Now is not the time, Daniel," Erika said, a stern, serious expression on her face. "Don't you get it? If that was her in the trees, then she knows who Audrey is! She heard what we were saying, she heard that Audrey is a pet! And worst of all, what if she followed us here? She'll know where to find her!"

"She never leaves those woods," Daniel said, sounding much more confident about the matter than he truly felt.

"And how do you know? Daniel, this is serious. You know she hates pets and considers them traitors! And now she knows you've been running around with one!" Erika sighed. "I told you to leave that place as soon as you got the chance... why didn't you listen? It's too late now!"

"This isn't what I wanted it to become!" Daniel shouted. "It was supposed to be a safe haven for the abused and abandoned among us!"

"Why didn't you expect that one of your little rescues would have a grudge against humans this strong?!" Erika snapped back. "I warned you when you came up with the idea! You know that a lot of abused cats end up thinking of humans with such revulsion that their hate would extend to pets! But no, you could trust them, you could curb that thought... Daniel, you shouldn't have done this!"

"Look, I realize that it's gone wrong, all right? And I'm still going to try to leave them. But now is not the time! If I left, I'd still be worried about..." His voice trailed off. He then gave a small shudder at the thought of that someone getting hurt.

"Daniel. Please. I'm sorry to say, but it's too late. You have to leave them. There's nothing more you can do. Maybe you can't beat them, maybe leaving won't change them, but staying on their side... have you no honor?" Erika asked. Daniel sat in silence. With a bitter, defeated sigh, Erika turned to go. "I can't make you leave... all I can do is beg. You, I, and Audrey are all in danger. You have to do something, even if it means just making sure you die with some dignity remaining." After waiting for a response and receiving none, Erika turned and left. Daniel sat completely motionless, his mind still absorbing his sister's words.

* * *

Time passed. Hot summer nights turned into brisk autumn nights, which quickly gave way to the chill and snow of the winter. On a night towards the end of the year, Audrey swiftly made her way through the streets, an excited spring in her step. While Daniel was still keeping a lot of things secret and promising to explain eventually, he did mention that many cats who had been maltreated by humans saw bipedal walking as a terrible, demeaning act; a tribute to the very animals who had hurt them. After all, only cats who spent considerable amounts of time with people could possibly pick up that style of walking, and in the minds of some, no self-respecting feline would spend enough time in the company of the humans to pick up the habit. Due to the danger because of the more violent street cats, Audrey had grown used to using all four of her paws while walking around outside. "Daniel!" she called as she got close to the alleyway where they would normally meet. She picked up speed as she approached. "Daniel! Come quick! I have something to tell you!"

Daniel came running at the sound of Audrey's voice. The couple shared a quick kiss, and then Daniel sat back on his haunches. "So, you say you have news? Good or bad?"

"I think it's good, but I'll leave it up to you to decide," Audrey answered, but Daniel could tell from her tone that he was going to enjoy what she was about to say. "I'll give you a little hint. You remember what we did a few nights ago, right?"

"How could I forget?" Daniel said with a mischievous smirk. "If I didn't remember that you'd have all rights to be worried."

Audrey laughed. "Well, anyway, it's related to that. I'll let you try to guess. Do you want to give it a shot?" she asked.

Daniel took a few moments to think, and then began to grow excited. "Audrey? Are you... are you pregnant?" He didn't even wait for her to nod before throwing his arms around her, forgetting for a short while that going on his hind paws was a bad idea. He finally pulled back when he remembered. "How is Edna taking it?" he asked.

"She's as excited as we are," Audrey responded. "She keeps referring to her upcoming grandchildren..."

Daniel chuckled at the eccentricity of his mate's caretaker. "And what about Hovis?"

"Very bitter and annoyed at the fact that there's going to be more cats in the house. What else did you expect?"

"Good point," Daniel said. He had run into Hovis once before, and the experience was not very pleasant. Hovis made it very clear that he cared incredibly little for animals. "Have you come up with any names?" he asked.

"Not yet," Audrey replied, "but I'm sure I'll think of something. Do you have any ideas?"

"Well..." Daniel started. "I've told you the name of the town where my parents came from, right?"

"Yes, you have," Audrey said.

"Well, I always thought that would be a nice boy's name. What do you think?"

Audrey mouthed the name a few times to get a feel of it. "You're right, it is a good name. I like it. Very well, then; if we have any sons, one of them will be called that." she said.

After a small period of silence, Audrey spoke on another topic. "Daniel? I talked to Edna, and she agrees that it may be a good idea if the kittens grow up with both of their parents living in the house. She said that if you want, you can move in, so... do you want to? Please?" she begged exaggeratedly. She had a strong feeling that Daniel wouldn't need much convincing.

"Of course I would," Daniel replied.

"That's great! Come on, you can come right now, you can-" Audrey said, her words going a mile a minute.

"No I can't," Daniel responded. "There's something I have to do tonight. I promise I'll come as soon as I'm finished, all right?"

Audrey nodded. "All right. That's fine. When do you have to do this little errand?"

"As soon as I can," Daniel said. "Now would be a very good time. You should get home. I'll go do what I need to do and then I'll hurry... home." He said this last word with much enthusiasm; never before had he had a place to call home, not for very long...

Audrey gave Daniel a farewell lick on the cheek. "See you soon, OK?" she said.

"See you soon," Daniel agreed. He watched Audrey turn to leave, and then went to go take care of one final thing. "My God, Erika," he muttered to himself, "this idea of yours had better go well..."

* * *

Audrey sat in her usual place on the windowsill, watching the front pathway intently. Time seemed to go by incredibly slowly; Daniel couldn't have possibly come soon enough... she jerked when she saw a feline figure running down the block and up the walkway. It wasn't Daniel. "Erika?" she asked no one in particular. "What are you doing here?" She jumped off of the windowsill and ran out the door to meet her. "Erika, what's wrong?" she asked. Erika was hunched over, panting. She obviously ran there as fast as she could.

"Come quick... you have to come quick... it's Daniel... he wants to see you... something's happened..." she panted. "Follow me! And hurry!" Without even waiting for a response, Erika ran back in the direction from which she came. Audrey followed, barely able to keep the pace. Erika finally stopped outside of an alleyway. "He's in there..." Erika said, panting. "I suggest you make it quick, it's not safe..."

"Daniel?" Audrey called, taking a step into the alley.

"Don't come in here," Daniel replied. "Please don't... I don't want you to see me like this..."

"What's going on? What happened?" Audrey asked, panicked. "Is something wrong with you? What's wrong? Are you OK? Are you going to be OK? What-"

"Audrey. Calm down," Daniel said. Audrey fell silent. "I don't have much time... I can't possibly explain what happened... all I can say is this. I'm dying." He sounded rather resigned to his fate.

"DYING?! Daniel, no! You can't! Come on, I can carry you home, Edna can take you to a doctor! You don't have to die! Please, Daniel!" The elated feeling that Audrey had experienced earlier that night was completely dead and gone. Tears were streaming down her face.

"I'm sorry, Audrey," Daniel said. "To be honest, I had a feeling my little errand to come to this... but as Erika told me, at least now I can die with honor and dignity..."

"Please, tell me what happened..." Audrey pleaded.

"I have no time. I'm sorry, Audrey. If anyone asks... if our children ask... I died in the cold. That's what's happened, Audrey. I've grown sick from the cold. Do you understand?"

Audrey realized that no matter how much she begged, Daniel was not going to back down from his position. She couldn't possibly understand why he would prefer to die, but an argument would have been a terrible way for her to say farewell. "I... I understand," she choked instead.

"Audrey? Just one more thing..."

"Yes, Daniel?"

"...I love you." Daniel's voice faded as he said this last phrase.

"I love you too..." Audrey replied. But Daniel did not say anything more. He was gone.

"Leave," Erika commanded. "I'm sorry, but there's nothing you could have done. If you go in there you'll be killed as well. We'll all be. You have to go now." Erika was crying as well, although her voice showed absolutely no sign of emotion.

Resigned to what had happened, Audrey turned to escape. She then realized that Erika wasn't following. "Aren't you coming?" she asked.

"There's something I must do. You go," Erika answered. "Just run now!" she snapped, launching into a wild panic. "Don't you hear me? RUN!"

Audrey obeyed, running as fast as she could while still exhausted and crying. She didn't even notice where she was going until she had finally collapsed on her front step. She lied there, panting, unable to move. She was too physically and emotionally drained.

"He's gone..." she told herself, the bitter truth finally fully sinking in. "Daniel... Daniel's gone..." She looked down at her stomach and began to address her babies. "I'm sorry you won't meet him... he was such a wonderful, caring cat... what could he have possibly gotten into?" She then remembered the name which Daniel had suggested. "It's definitely your name," she said. "Your father is the one who named you, Gordon..."

Audrey's attention then went to the sky. "Just what happened tonight?" she asked once again.

The sky did not respond.

_**TO BE CONTINUED...**_


End file.
